Eritrea

2012

Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed, government spokesman
and censor-in-chief of the Red Sea nation, has been invisible in the past few
weeks. The total absence of any independent press in Eritrea has allowed the
government to maintain complete silence in the face of mounting questions and
surging Internet rumors of his defection.

It was on November 17 that U.K.-based Eritrean opposition news
website Assena first reported,
citing unnamed sources, that Ali had sought asylum in Canada. Ten days later, Madote, a pro-government site, dismissed
the Assena report and claimed, citing
unnamed witnesses who reported by phone, that Ali was "seen walking in the
capital and discussing with citizens."

Tags:

New York, December 26, 2012--Sudanese authorities have detained
without charge since Monday two Eritrean journalists, Abdalal Mahmoud Hiabu and
Haroun Adam, from the Sudan-based Eritrean
Centre for Media Services, according to local journalists, family, and news
reports.

Worldwide tally reaches highest point since CPJ began
surveys in 1990. Governments use charges of terrorism, other anti-state offenses
to silence critical voices. Turkey is the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report

With the launch of CPJ's most recent exile report, I will
have worked exactly three years for our Journalist Assistance
program. More than 500 cases later, I have helped journalists who have gone into hiding or exile to escape
threats; those in need of medicine and other support while in prison, and
journalists injured after violent attacks. The most harrowing accounts of
all, however, come from those crossing from Eritrea into Sudan. And things seem
to be getting worse, not better.

Crisis in East Africa

Fifty-seven journalists fled their country in the past year, with Somalia sending the
greatest number into exile. Journalists also fled Ethiopia, Eritrea, and
Rwanda--mostly for Kenya and Uganda. Exiles in East Africa must grapple with
poverty and fear. A CPJ special report by María Salazar-Ferro and Tom Rhodes

One big reason for the Internet's success is its role as a
universal standard, interoperable across the world. The data packets that leave
your computer in Botswana are the same as those which arrive in Barbados. The
same is increasingly true of modern mobile networks. Standards are converging: You can use your phone, access an app, or send a text, wherever you are.

CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney counts down the 10 countries where the
press is most tightly restricted. How do leaders in these nations silence the
media? And which country is the worst of all? (4:03)

Read CPJ's report on the 10 Most Censored countries for more detail
on how censorship works, and which countries were the runners-up.

China didn't make the cut for our 10 most censored countries. While the Chinese
Communist Party's censorship
apparatus is notorious, journalists and Internet users work hard to overcome
the restrictions. Nations like Eritrea and North Korea lack that dynamism.

CPJ's
Journalist Assistance Program supports journalists who cannot be helped by
advocacy alone. In 2011, we assisted 171 journalists worldwide. Almost
a fourth came from countries that made CPJ's Most Censored list. Eight journalists from Eritrea,
five from Syria, six from Cuba, and a whopping 20 from Iran sought our help
after being forced to leave their countries, having suffered the consequences
of defying censorship at home.